Thursday, July 17, 2008

Soria-NO.

I am not a Cubs fan. I'll say that outright. Living an entire year right next to Wrigley Field and dealing on a daily basis with Cubs fans (aka drunks) was enough to turn me against the Chicago Chokes. But all that said-the Cubs are my pick to win the World Series this year. They have the most consistent hitting, they have solid starters and bullpen guys, and, maybe most importantly, they have the deepest roster in baseball with guys like Reed Johnson and even Ronny Cedeno really stepping up this year. So why on earth are they still shelling $14 million on this guy-

Ah yes, Alfonso Soriano, seen here in an image that captures him doing what it is he does best, injure himself. In fact, in his entire MLB career, Soriano has NEVER played more than 159 games in one season, which he did in 2006 with the lowly Nationals. So far this year, he has only played 51 games for the Cubs, and while he's hit 15 home runs and had 40 RBIs in those games, the fact is, the Cubs do not need him.

Think about it this way. You work in a law firm hiring paralegals. Someone applies to your firm, and tell you they want to work for you, but will only be there 8 out of the 12 months every year. Would you hire this person? No! Of course not! Because you want someone who will be there to work for you year round. It's the same with Soriano. He comes with everything short of a written gaurantee saying "I will get injured, I will cost too much, and I certainly will not play the whole season."

The Cubs are an all around deep enough team that is built to win now, and with the recent addition of Rich Harden to their starting rotation, they have cemented themselves as a playoff contender. The last thing they need to be doing is shelling out money on a brittle, streaky hitter who is selfish and has proven that he is an all around bad presence in the clubhouse.

With the trade deadline approaching, I hope the Cubs put Soriano out there on the block. He's a huge name-they can get great value for him and give their budget some breathing room. But then, if they don't, I don't really care anyway. After all, I'm not a Cubs fan.